


Break My Heart, But it Won't Bleed

by emsuzz2012



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: A Tad Bit of Violence, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Drunkeness, F/M, Nothing explicit, Travel, a little bit of language, alternate ending to the series, doggy, drunk, east coast, hacking stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-15
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2018-02-08 22:30:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1958508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emsuzz2012/pseuds/emsuzz2012
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Starts when Garrett's on the phone with Skye in front of Ward in the season finale. Alternate ending.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Better As a Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward knows what he has to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picks up after the phone call between Garrett and Skye in the last episode. I’m changing things up so I guess after this it’s AU. This is also a product of my adhd because I sat down to work on the story series that basically only entertains myself and instead I went tanning and then listened to music and heard a set of songs and a plot came anddddd then I painted my nails….Welcome to adhd my friends. Legit.
> 
> The song (because I have to have one) is Better As a Memory by Kenny Chesney  
> and no I do not just prefer country songs it just so happens those are the most emotionally revealing ones lmao but it’s not integrated like they usually are with me since the story just had so much going on lol
> 
> [Better As a Memory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6pny6T4oU%0A) by Kenny Chesney
> 
>  
> 
> I own nothing!

Ward watched his mentor shut the phone as he leaned over the railing towards him.

"Raina told me how special Skye is. I know you've seen that from the start. You want orders?"

Ward looked up.  
"Get her."

On instinct Grant began to turn away voicing a small thank you. He stopped mid turn when something inside him clicked realizing what it was John had just said. He knows about Skye…and now he wants me to go get her?

He was confused. Maybe his S.O. was finally allowing something he'd been wanting for so long. It's just...the way he said it…it didn't sound right. He placed his hand on the railing and looked back towards Garrett who was now looking at Mike Peterson.

"Sir?"

He watched the older man whip around suddenly and let loose a growl in frustration.

"What?"

Grant winced at his tone, but kept his nerve. "Why do you want me to get Skye?"

Garrett turned his body to completely face Ward brining up one hand and slapping it down on the railing again. "First you ask me for orders, and then you question them?"

Another wince; he knew what was coming. "John, I just—"

The back of a hand collided with Grant's face with a force he had not ever seen from the man before, the force causing him to remain bent over putting a hand to his jaw.

"I don't want  _her_ , I want what's  _inside_."

Grants eyes shot open.

"Make a choice son, be that weak teenager in the woods, or be a man and  _go get her_!"

He didn't want Skye just for him…he wanted to hurt her. Images of Skye lying in the hyperbolic chamber flooded his mind.

_No_.

He couldn't let that happen.  _This_ time, he would protect her.

Grants body acted as if it was on autopilot as the hand cradling his jaw reached around to his back and started to slowly raise his body back up. He saw John's smirk turn into something akin to fear as Grant stretched his arm out in front of him leveling his pistol with his S.O's head.

"No, John." He took a deep breath. He could do this. "I'm tired… I'm tired of giving up so much to make  _you_  happy only to get nothing in return."

He took a step closer to the older man as he kept a watchful eye on Peterson behind him.

"I told you Skye was  _off limits_."

Grant noticed that John's expression of fear had relaxed a bit as he let a smirk appear on his face. "And I told you to follow orders…This is a bad move son," Garrett moved to place a hand on the gun pointed at him, "put down the gun and—"

"No John!" his mentor backed down a bit with a scowl on his face, but Grant's voice never wavered. "You're losing your mind John…I can't let you keep doing this."

"If you do this Grant, you'll have S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra on your ass. You'll never survive this."

Without so much as blinking, "I'll take my chances." Grant fire one shot into the man's skull and shifted his attention to the half cyborg in the corner.

He turned his arm towards Peterson, "Anything to say?"

Mike slowly walked over to where Garrett's body had fallen and looked down without any flicker of emotion on his face.

"My assignment was to never leave his side," He turned his head towards Grant, "I see no further purpose for me here."

He began to walk away when a thought occurred to Grant.

"Why didn't you stop me?"

Surely he had ample time to stop him from shooting. He was half cyborg now; his reflexes could be twenty times that of Grant's.

"By the time you pulled the trigger I had already calculated the possibilities of interfering. All of which ended the same." He turned back to face the agent, "You're training would have had you shoot with the slightest indication of my moving. There was nothing I could do."

"What will you do now?"

Mike turned back towards the door he was heading to, "Find my son."

With that he left Grant alone with the corpse. He refused to look down at the man lying in a pool of his own blood knowing the bottom of his boots would leave bloody footprints in their wake from standing to close.

_Skye_.

His mind shifted back into high alert as he made his way to the tech offices to find Skye.

* * *

"Is Hydra the plucky little family you never had? Or are you here because of the  _incentives_  program."

She knew that struck a nerve with the man in the chair in front of her. She needed information, if he would just give it to her, they could leave this all behind them-

"She's not gonna kill you."

_That voice._

She whipped around to find Grant walking with gun raised straight towards her.

"She had a chance to kill me before and couldn't do it; and she hates me…a lot."

How dare him. "I feel sorry for you. Betraying the only people who gave you a chance at being a decent human being…Fitz was a hero because he still wanted to give you that chance after  _everything._ "

He was getting closer.

"But, some people are just  _born_  evil I guess."

"Yeah, yeah maybe they are."

Skye steeled herself for whatever he had planned.

"I've learned things about you Skye…history. Things you'll wanna know. You and I aren't that different."

He was insane. She was  _nothing_  like he was.

_He's a traitorous murdering bastard!_

She chuckled slightly, mocking his statements. "You're not the evil I was referring to, Garrett is evil. You're just  _weak_ ," she crept closer to him. Two could play this game, "Doing anything you're told." She smirked, "I hope Garrett orders you to walk into traffic."

"You're right Skye…" wait what? "You woke up a weakness inside me…"

Skye stared back as she tried not to let her shock show on her features.

"And for the first time in a while I wanted something for myself."

She picked up on the edge to his voice.

"But I realized it wasn't an option for me anymore…so I took out the variable that took it away from me."

She watched him lower his gun before reaching behind him to put in the waistband of his combat pants.

_What's he playing at?_

He had to have cards up his sleeves that she didn't know about. She kept her confusion well hidden to throw him off and she arched her eyebrow in question.

"What are you talking about?"

He ignored her question, "Tell Coulson, he'll find Garrett in the boiler room outside the lab," the silent implication of the Clairvoyant's wellbeing made clear. Gesturing with a nod to the man she still had tied to the chair, "the Incentives program is on the bottom floor. The keys are in the desk drawer behind him."

Skye looked at him warily before walking around the desk to open the drawer and grab the keys she found lying in the bottom before looking at the man she had tied up.

"Mike Peterson will be looking for it too, Ace is down there."

Why was he telling her all this?

"What are you doing Ward. What are you getting at?"

Grant put his hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "I'm not playing any games Skye…I'm just…" He shook his head with a bitter smile on his face and turned back to look at her as he took a deep breath, "I'm just trying to do the right thing for once and walk away."

Walk away? He can't be serious. She narrowed her eyes at her former S.O. before

_Coward!_

She must have said it aloud because his eyes took on a sadness she didn't see a minute ago.

"Skye—"

"You're just going to walk away? Leave  _everything_ you caused in shambles?"

Grant starts to make his way towards her slowly and Skye stands her ground.

"In the beginning, you asked me what my defining moment was." She blinked up at him as she waited to see where he was going with this.

"The one I told you was a lie—"

Of course it was!

She rolled her eyes at the agent in front of her "As if that is the shocker of the day…Grant Ward lying about something."

She crossed her arms as she saw him shut his eyes tightly and take a deep breath. Was this really that difficult for him?

"My family was something that I had already come to terms with…I had become numb to it."

_Until you set a house on fire…_

"But," She was brought out of her thoughts as she patiently waited for him to finish. She was slightly interested in what he had to say now. Just for, S.H.I.E.L.D. information purposes of course, so she'd have something to tell Coulson.

In no way did she care about anything he had to say….

Another deep breath and he opened his mouth as if he was trying to find the words. "But, my real defining moment was probably about fifteen minutes ago." Well that was unexpected. Her eyes widened when he continued, "I know what I have to do now."

She continued to stare into his eyes in search of a lie, but could find none. She must be out of practice. Or tired. Or maybe she was hungry.  _Something_  had to explain why she couldn't find anything.

Her radio produced a large scratchy noise that broke them both out of the tension filled atmosphere causing her to wince and scramble to reach for the offending object.

" _Sk-Skye! Can you hear me?"_

Coulson's voice came through the small speaker on the hand held device and she quickly glanced back to the audience of captives she forgot all about.

"Yeah, AC, listen…Garrett's in the boiler room by the labs and the Incentives program is on the ground floor….Deathlok might be around so be careful. I have the keys to the cells; I'll meet you down there soon."

" _Alright Skye, just be—caref—okay?"_

They must be a considerable distance away from her on the base for the radios to cut out so badly. With a sigh she turned back around to continue the confusing conversation she was having with Grant when she noticed he was no longer standing there.

Panic filled her entire being as she glanced around quickly spotting him moving at a good speed behind one of the glass panels in the hallway attached to the room. She started after him before turning to her captives, "Stay put! I'll be right back…nobody...uh...move." With a last point of her fingers she broke out in a jog to catch up to the man trying to make a quick exit.

_**I move on like a sinners prayer** _

She gets to the opening of the hallway and watches his back as he continues down the straight path, "This doesn't mean I forgive you."

_**Letting go like a levee breaks** _

She doesn't know what she was intending on getting across with that statement, but it seemed to make him stop none the less. She watches his shoulders rise and fall in deep breaths and lets his head roll back to rest on them as he looks at the ceiling.

_**Walk away as if I don't care** _

He finally turns around and faces her and it almost takes her breath away with the dramatic aspect of their situation.

_**Learn to shoulder my mistakes** _

He wasn't a very far distance away from her, but she found herself moving towards him without being entirely conscious of it. She noticed him moving back towards her so she figured it was okay that they were getting closer…it was just so that they didn't have to yell…right?

_**I'm built to fade like your favorite song** _

The look in Grants eyes was so intense she felt herself shiver. They were so close now he had to look down at her and as her eyes made their way up to meet his, she stopped at his lips.

_**Gettin reckless when there's no need** _

She watched them move as he whispered, "I know."

_**Laugh as your stories ramble on** _

Skye didn't see his hands moving until they came into her peripheral vision as he placed them gently on both sides of her head, much like he had done on the bus before.

_After he handcuffed you?_

_**Break my heart, but it won't bleed** _

She couldn't help shrug off the warning. Surely he didn't have handcuffs on him now and there was nothing he could cuff her to anyhow.

_**My only friends are pirates** _

She felt as if she was in a daze as he ran his fingers through her hair to move it away from her face.

_**That's just who I am** _

"I will never ask for your forgiveness Skye. I don't deserve it."

_**I'm better as a memory than as your man** _

His hands settled on the back of her neck with both of his thumbs under her ears where she felt the pads of his thumb stroking the skin there.

"—and, I know it's probably too late now, but I've come to realize something."

Her feet suddenly became more interesting than the conversation and she looked down at her shoes.

_I can't handle how he's looking at me. Come on Skye snap out of it._

If he noticed she was looking at her feet and not him, he didn't acknowledge it as he continued. "When I told you that someday you'd understand, I didn't understand completely myself…especially when it concerned you."

She couldn't help it now. She brought her gaze back up to his and her hands reached up to wrap her fingers around his wrists by her face. Screw Hydra. Screw S.H.I.E.L.D. This was her chance  _to_  understand. She'd listen to him; after all, they gave her a second chance.

She whispered his name I an attempt to urge him to continue.

"I thought—at first I thought, it was just your looks…I didn't know what anything else felt like so I chalked it up to lust, but."

One of his hands dropped down to her waist and her now free hand found purchase on his waist as her fingers hooked around his belt loops.

"When you were shot, I...I—"His sentenced died on his lips and she watched him carefully as he switched the gears of the conversation.

"I know," He stops and she watches him swallow quickly before starting to shake his head, " _I know,_  I've lost every ounce of  _whatever_  it was that you may have felt for me—"she interrupts him and squeezes the wrist of the hand he still has in her hair.

"No, Grant…you can still come back," Coulson would disagree and May would no doubt kill her but right now she didn't care, "come with us."

She felt him tense briefly as he brought his eyes back to hers from their attempt to find anything else he could focus on.

"Skye…" She knew she had tears in her eyes but she also wouldn't let them fall. If she was going to do this…if she was going to offer this chance. She needed to be strong for the both of them.

"Come with  _me_." Her emphasis on the 'me', although quiet, seemed to relax him as she felt his thumb begin to rub her jaw once more soothing her.

She watched his frown turn into a small and weak breathy smile, "The second they see me they will throw me in jail."

She can't argue with that. She knows he belongs in jail. He's killed, he's lied, and he's betrayed them on every level. Yet, here she was, in front of him still offering him something. She shuts her eyes tightly forcing the tears back.

_Some things never change I guess._

"I have a chance to fix a little of what I helped damage," she wasn't sure if he was trying to convince her or himself, "and I'm going to take it, even if it means I'll always be on the run."

Her heart ached for him. He was always alone, and what's worse was he was always prepared to be alone. No one should feel like that… _ever._

Skye turned her head away from him to look out the windows lining the hallway overlooking the body of water near the building.

_Typical_.

She'd had a real agent badge for a day. She'd had finally grasped her happiness in the form of love and it lasted for all of one day…She just couldn't seem to hold on to anything anymore, and the thought scared her more than she liked to admit.

She felt disappointed when his hand untangled itself from her hair, only to have it return to her face when she felt his finger curl under her chin and lead her face back to his. She continued to avoid his stare for a few seconds longer as she prepared herself for the blow of him leaving her again.

She finally worked up the courage to look him in the eye and all her work went to nothing. She felt a few tears streak their way down her cheeks as she attempted to swallow the lump in her throat to keep them back.

" _Especially_ if it means  _you're_ safe."

_**I see you leaning, you're bound to fall** _

She shook her head in protest, "Who! Who, do I need protected from Grant?  _This is it!_  We are taking down Hydra and there won't be anyone—"she stops suddenly as she feels him take her hand off his belt loop and grabs her other hand lying limp at her side. He holds her fingers in his much larger hands and rubs his thumbs over her knuckles.

_**I don't want to be that mistake** _

"You'll be safe away from me."

Her eyes widen in shock as she tries to process what he could even mean by that. The Berserker staff? His childhood? Lorelei; What? What could possibly be in him to cause her danger?

"Grant, no. Stop"

_**I'm just a dreamer and nothing more** _

He ignored her pleas and brought her hands up to his lips and she could only watch in anticipation as his lips ghosted over her knuckles.

_**You should know it before it gets too late** _

" _I love you._ "

She felt him speak the words more than she heard them and against her better judgment she accepted it as purely genuine and tears spring forward to her eyes once more as she cursed how much of a  _bitch_  fate was.'

He finally pressed his lips to her knuckles in a slow kiss and she felt his grip on her hands start to lighten as he began to walk away from her for what felt like the millionth time that week.

She squeezed his fingers before their hands completely separated and she yanked him back towards her. She released his hands just as he raised his arms and threw her own around his waist pressing him up against her and quickly leaned up to slant her lips over his.

_**Cause goodbyes are like a roulette wheel** _

She felt his hand on her face again as his fingers wove themselves once more through her tresses; his response just as frantic as hers. Their lips moved together over top of one another's in a desperate hope to satisfy the need in both of them, despite knowing it would never be so.

_**You never know where they're gonna land** _

When they parted for air she brought him back to her quickly with a whimper and pressed their chests together in a possessive hug.

_**First you're spinning, then you're standing still** _

The hand in her hair brought her head to rest on his chest as his other arm swings up and around her shoulders holding her to him just as tightly, pressing kisses into her hair every few seconds before resting his cheek against the top of her head.

_**Left holding a losing hand** _

She cursed herself briefly for feeling so many conflicting emotions at once. She was saddened with the notion of him leaving and his affection made her feel content enough to never want to leave his arms. If Coulson saw her now, he's probably test her for a concussion.

The walls she had so skillfully built back up after the reveal of his true alliances were tumbling back down. This was not forgiveness. This was just her being selfish and not wanting him in a jail cell…away from her.

_**But one day you're gonna find someone** _

She grips the back of his shirt in her fists as she struggles with keeping the tears at bay and she pressed her face into his shirt before letting out a sniffle calming herself down before she got  _really_  worked up.

_**And right away you'll know it's true** _

She could deal with this. This was  _not_  the end of the world.

_**That all of your seeking's done** _

Time to put the big girl panties on.

_**It was just a part of the passing through** _

"That better not have been a  _goodbye_  kiss Agent Ward"

_**Right there in that moment you'll finally understand** _

She felt his smile against her head and sighed when he pulled away from her and slid his hands down her shoulders. She let out a wry smile as his hands continued their mission past her elbows and down to her wrists as he reached behind them to unlock the fingers she had clasped around his back just to lace them with his. He dropped their hands to their sides and leaned forward to press his forehead to hers.

"One day, I'll find you again."

_**I'm better as a memory than as your man** _

By the time she met up with May and Coulson she had put herself back together and had released the prisoners of the Incentive program. Her arms provided a nap to Ace as she looked around for his father who was apparently lurking around the building looking for his son.

She knows the two older agents could sense a change in her behavior and attitude, but she pushed it aside and continued walking towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV's. After putting Ace in the backseat and quietly shutting the door, she turned around to meet Coulson's worrying gaze.

"Come on, Garrett's upstairs."

It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns for Skye. She had something confusing, crazy and strangely addicting going on with Grant, and she couldn't talk to her team about it.

If this was a merry-go-round, she wanted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said the song wasn’t integrated like it was in the others but I couldn’t help but put some of the words in there lol  
> This will have…4 maybe 5 chapters all of which I already had pretty much planned out in my google keep app with the rest of my stories and chapters…. =)  
> Let me know what you think!


	2. Need You Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unexpected visits and a dog.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this fic is super pointless and just like depressing fluff haha and I realize that but you know me…there is plot though but it’s a long chapter soo…
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> [Need You Now](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM213aMKTHg) by Lady Antebellum

_One year later_

She made her way down the cargo ramp towards her van parked where she left it on the S.H.I.E.L.D. airfield parking lot. She held her box of belongings tighter to her chest and tried to keep a hold of it while grabbing one of the straps of her backpack to hoist it higher on her back. 

Skye could feel Coulson’s eyes staring holes into her back but she had resolved before walking out of her bunk that she would _not_ look back. 

 _At least not for a while_.

It had been a year of restless nights and never ending days since the Hydra reveal and she couldn’t take it anymore. It was becoming more and more evident of the danger she was putting the team in now that her 0-8-4 status was spreading around the remaining factions with each attack on the team. The attacks had grown more violent recently and she was not willing to put the progress Leo had made with his recovery in jeopardy.

She had to leave.  She had to disappear—again— or everyone she loved would be in danger. 

Disappearing again wouldn’t be a problem considering how many time’s she has erased information about her from existence.  She had tried to do so with her 0-8-4 files but with Raina still out there moving from place to place it was impossible to completely wipe clean.

She’d made the decision to leave a month ago and had everything she needed set up to go at a moment’s notice, only having to wait for them to touch down back at the airfield to make her move. Having long since hacked the bus’ navigation system as well as communications, Skye knew as soon as May put in coordinates and communicated with the control center that the time was soon approaching. 

Leaving would be different this time and would feel a lot worse than she’s ever been used to.  Not having a family or ties to anyone was part of what kept her on the road with her van before this whole S.H.I.E.L.D. fiasco, and now she actually had both.

She planned not to tell FitzSimmons and hoped she would not have to come in contact with Tripp or May before making her escape, however, she decided she _would_ tell Coulson.  She was not ignorant of the father and daughter bond that they had developed and considering how much he’s done for her and fought for her knew she had to at least explain to him.

That conversation led them to her hauling her things into her van, still refusing to look back. The explanation hadn’t gone well but it hadn’t necessarily gone bad either.  He obviously objected to her leaving and told her how much they all cared for her and that they could figure out the danger part later but she silenced his arguments.

_“I came to S.H.I.E.L.D. to find my parents so that I could maybe find people who cared about me. Nowhere did I sign up to lose them after I got them.”_

Skye knew that Coulson would take it as a hint to the ex-agent whose presence was a dark void that everyone had tip toed around for too long, but she didn’t care.  To be honest, he was the majority of the reason she had wanted to leave, the danger to the team was just the icing on the cake.

She started up her van and put both hands on the steering wheel bringing her forehead to touch it. She took a couple deep breaths in order to calm her nerves and her heart ache before throwing the vehicle in drive and driving away.

* * *

 

_Four months later_

She sat on the edge of the floorboards of her van with the sliding door opened and her legs propped up on the concrete outside. She had made it all the way to the east coast just pulling into Georgia before the sun rose. 

She’d been up north plenty of times to places like New York and Pennsylvania, but had never really ventured down to the Deep South having avoided it due to what a tourist in New York City had once told her of the humidity.  After watching the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean she figured the view was a good tradeoff to the frizz that would be her hair some days.

The sound of her stomach rumbling elicited a groan from Skye.  It was only 6am and having being new to the area obviously she had no idea who or what would be open. 

She scooted back on her butt a little to reach into the driver’s seat to pull out the box of cereal she had been munching on the majority of the trip.  It would hold her over until she figured it was a reasonable time to go scavenging for food.  Some trucker at the last stop had told her to find a Waffle House and his description had made her more excited than she should be.

She sat crossed legged on the floorboards of her van once more as she leaned against the back of the passenger seat and after releasing a heavy sigh she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

She wouldn’t lie. 

The only reason she found herself this far east is because she had picked up the signal of his phone about two weeks ago and she followed it nonstop only to have it disappear about an hour after crossing into Alabama.

She had decided not to waste time trying to find it again so she kept driving to at least get herself where she last picked it up so that if she found it again there was no way she’d be that far away from him.

There were pictures all scattered around her that she’d been looking at on and off over the past few weeks.  She missed him and the pictures at least gave her somewhat of a motivation.

She leaned forward and ran her fingers over the scattered photos spreading them even farther along the floor. 

They were various pictures, some from where she had forced him to take a picture and others from the bus’s camera feed that she had screenshot just to catch him be himself when he didn’t think anyone was watching.  She chuckled to herself as she remembered trying to tell Jemma about the candid photos with the sole intent on actually showing her one of Fitz looking at her, but they got stuck on one of Grant and it took a while for her to convince the doctor she wasn’t a stalker.

**_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor._ **

A sad smile crept on to her face at the memories the photos stirred up.  He had promised her he’d come find her again one day.  So where was he?

**_Reaching for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore._ **

She fished her phone out of her hoodies front pouch and tried to locate his signal again only to be met with the same response she’d been getting. 

_‘Cannot locate signal.’_

This isn’t her forgiving him for all he had done before, and she wouldn’t deny the fact he’s a criminal who should have probably been tried for treason…But...well…she wasn’t really sure why the need to find him was so strong. 

_After all he did say that HE would find ME._

The reason she had been going with to this point was that he made a promise to her and she’s salty it had taken him so long. 

Did he still remember his promise though?

**_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind?_ **

Did he even miss her?

**_For me it happens all the time._ **

She let out a sigh and picked up one of the pictures that she had made him take with her one day after training. It was after she had asked him to actually spar with her to see how she could handle herself, and he was too focused on being careful not to hurt her resulting in her actually winning, so obviously she wanted to document the said occasion.

 Sure it was a selfie, but it was the way they were posed that made her heart flutter even today.

She had her lips puckered in a smirk as she held the camera above their heads, she had to account for his height, and had her head tilted slightly towards his face causing her lips to be close to his own.  He had his head turned so he was looking to the side behind her head in an attempt to avoid the picture all together but one of his hands was gripping her waist, and the other on her shoulder.

**_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now._ **

She let the photo drop to the ground and she brought her knees up and hugged them to her chest.  She rested her head on her knees in an attempt to comfort herself as the emotions came up to the surface all at once.

**_Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now._ **

Skye told herself long ago when she still harbored a good amount of anger towards him, that she would _not_ put her life on hold just to wait to see if he did come back.  Yet, here she was sitting in her van blinking back tears in her eyes on the south east coast mad at herself for even being a tad upset.

**_And I don't know how I can do without._ **

At this point though, she could admit to herself that she craved the comfort that only he provided to her whenever they were on the bus.  She needed someone to tell her she wasn’t a danger to society who should be put in a cell…someone who would stay with her. 

She hoped that now that he was technically on the run too, they could work on the problems of the past and could be what the other needed.

**_I just need you now._ **

_Grant..._

* * *

 

He sat in an armchair with the only light in the room coming from the lamp on the table beside him.  One hand was propped up by an elbow on the arm of the chair and raised to his mouth where he pressed his knuckles to his lips in thought as he stared blankly farther into the room.  His other arm lay on the other side of the chair with his fingers dangling a glass as his hand hung limp. 

**_Another shot of whiskey, can’t stop looking at the door._ **

This had seemed to grow into routine for the special ops agent  for the past year if he let his thoughts wander too long. 

It was always the same thing though.  He’d always lose himself in the thoughts of her.  
Her hair.  
Her lips.  
Her _eyes_.

Absentmindedly he brought the glass up to his lips and took a sip of the auburn liquid, as a ghostly vision of Skye laughed at him calling him a robot, before it began to drift across the room.

**_Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before._ **

He closed his eyes at the painful memories when the canine at his feet let out a yawn before sitting up to take a protective stance at his feet but relaxed when Grant lowered the hand pressed against his mouth to scratch the Doberman behind its’ ear. He watched the dogs ears perk up before looking back to his master with his tongue hanging out of his mouth resulting in what could be seen as a goofy smile.

_Skye would love this dog._

A streak of pain went straight through his heart before he cursed to himself at his own ignorance

**_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind_ **

He lived in a small beachfront condo—too big for a bachelor but too small for a family—on Ocean Isle Beach.  The North Carolina weather at first seemed too warm for the Massachusetts native but he grew accustomed to it after a few months and would now probably settle for nothing less. 

_She’d love the view of the ocean._

“Dammit.”

**_For me it happens all the time_ **

He pushed himself up and rose quickly and threw the half empty glass against the wall in front of him staggering a bit before catching his footing as he watched it shatter and smear its contents on the wall and floor .

He brought his hands up to run his fingers through his hair as he took deep breaths trying to steady himself.

**_It’s a quarter after one, I’m a little drunk and I need you now._ **

Why did he keep doing that to himself? He tormented himself in a way as such that made him not only miss her more, but almost punish him for leaving her in the first place. 

He wanted nothing more than to go find her—had tried to go find her months ago, only to be stopped and forced to tend to other pressing needs.

The detours are what led him to this small condo in the first place after he was told to remain there until further notice.  The island was small and remote and not a huge tourist attraction since it attracted the older crowd and families. 

**_Said I wouldn’t call but I’ve lost all control and I need you now._ **

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his companion sitting in the doorway of the kitchen, thankfully out of harm’s way, and Grant’s eyes softened as he walked away from the dog towards the bedrooms, the aftermath he was still dealing with from the _Berserker_ _staff_ slowly fading.

He was losing control quicker these days, and he made no guesses as to why.  He was always a thousand times calmer around her and knew he could control it….now though…he wasn’t so sure of himself.

**_And I don’t know how I can do without,_ **

 He couldn’t let her go on through life thinking he lied to her.  He meant what he said to her; the promise he made.  But, he knew he had to get rid of the demons chasing him first before he could protect her.

How foolish of him though.

**_I just need you now_ **

They would never stop coming for him.

His fist connected with the wall as he passed through his bedroom door.

It was his way of dealing with the pain of finally allowing himself love, only to take it away as a form of punishment for his crimes.

**_Guess I’d rather hurt than feel nothing at all._ **

He let himself collapse on the bed in an attempt to relax.   
Did she even miss him?

**_And I don’t know how I can do without_ **

Did she even still want him to come back for her?

**_I just need you now._ **

A nap.  That’s what he needed—a nap. That would clear all these thoughts swirling around his head.

He threw an arm over his eyes to block out the light filtering in through the window begging to let sleep take him.

* * *

 

Grant found himself drifting in and out of sleep when he heard barking. He threw his arm back down beside him grumbling to himself. 

“Shut up Captain.”

There was a loud pounding sound in his head and he wondered if he had a headache in the works as he tried once more to drift off.  The barking continued as the pounding started to get louder.

Okay, not a headache in the biological sense, however a headache in the ‘I have a neighbor who always comes over with pies and brings her son to play with my dog’ sense.

Oh he was definitely ignoring this.

Captain continued to bark until suddenly Grant’s training kicked in when he heard the sound of the door knob being jostled.  He strained to hear over the barking as he sat up and planted his feet on the hard wood floor reaching over into the side drawer to retrieve his pistol.  He quickly checked to make sure it was loaded before slowly standing up and making his way to his bedroom door trying to spread his weight evenly with each step to avoid a creaky board. 

The sound of the door opening caused him to jump to the wall beside the doorway before going completely rigid at the whimper his dog made before a thud was heard.

_Obviously not pie lady._

He flipped the safety off before he crept into the hallway with his hands level with his eyes ready to shoot.  The front door creaked as it swung shut and he heard footsteps walking around the living room making noise with every step on the wooden floor. 

Whoever this was apparently had little concern for stealth, thus causing further confusion on his part.

Grant waited for the foot falls to cease before he began to count and after reaching thirty seconds he steeled himself in preparation of confronting the intruder. Once he took a couple deep breaths, he gripped his gun tighter, before rounding the curve in one quick motion quickly pointing his gun in preparation of making a fatal shot. 

He was not prepared for what he found.

There was an average height and build man in his living room, bald, in a suit, hands in his pockets, with his back turned to Grant as he looked over the various items that decorated the entertainment center in the room.

He didn’t need to see his face to know immediately who it was and without lowering his weapon he glanced towards the front door quickly and saw his dog laying on his side too far away from him to notice if he was breathing or not.  Grant turned his attention back to the man as he crept closer to him.

“Coulson.”

If he heard him, the man made no indication.  He watched as Coulson brought a hand out of his pocket to lightly finger the tiny object that currently held his attention, “Is this real?”

Grant stood dumbfounded.

He broke into his home— judging by the icer he had holstered on his side—incapacitated his dog, and now he was looking through Grant’s things and wondering if something was real?

“No way is this real, it doesn’t look like it…but then again I’ve never seen one.”

Grant still had his pistol raised ready to shoot.  If anything, he’d shoot the man for being insane.

His thoughts were interrupted as the agent turned around to face him but kept his attention on the object that he now had in his hand, “where did you get this?”

The object in question came from Mexico City from one of the sites of the Aztec ruins.  A local grateful of help he provided gave him one as a symbol of good luck.

He’d have to remember to throw it out later…obviously it doesn’t work.

“ _Coulson.”_

The older man still did not turn his attention to Grant, however he turned around to place the figurine back onto the entertainment center.

“Fury finally dropped the ball on the little secret you two have been sharing,” Coulson’s gaze rotated around the room taking in his surroundings before coming to settle on the shattered glass from earlier, “Told me what all you had been up to the last year.”

A couple months after he had killed Garrett and left Skye, he went on the run with the mission of doing everything in his power to remove the remaining threat and help some of who he wronged. For being on his own, his limited successes were miracles, but he knew in the back of his mind that one day he’d have to answer for his crimes.

That day came when Maria Hill found him walking away from the debris of what was, the day before, a Hydra military base.

He froze in place when he heard her clear her throat and after a minute of silence, Grant dropped his weapons on the ground and held both hands up in surrender. He had told her if she was going to arrest him to get it over with.  However her plans, as she revealed with a sarcastic attitude, were to bring him to Fury where he would work with a secret team in eliminating the remaining threats.  She made sure he knew it was not redemption in any form, merely just an alternative sentencing. 

He of course agreed with no questions asked and despite his team being under orders to eliminate Grant under any indication he was defecting back towards Hydra, together with Fury, eliminated a good portion of the influence Hydra still had. 

Though, one incident in particular was bigger than any of them had predicted resulting in a quick extraction and regrouping to come up with a better strategy.  It appeared as if Hydra had some crutches still in Germany and the one they had attempted to eradicate was one of the strong holds.  The second attempt at the base didn’t happen when they realized they had up and moved the location. 

Fury feared that one of the Hydra soldiers could have possibly identified Grant and could be spreading the word of his betrayal and ordered him to lay low until the word was given, ending any attempt he hoped at searching for a certain woman.

“I have to say I’m impressed at your progress,” Ward finally lowered his weapon, but still had both hands gripping the gun tightly, “but also a little disappointed you got off without a few good hits from May.”

Grant rolled his eyes as he reached behind him to put his gun in the waistband of his black jeans.

“Not gonna lie, I was looking forward to some of the things she mentioned.

Grant put his hands on his hips shaking his head as he looked at Captain on the floor once more, “I don’t know what you want me to say sir—“

“Woah,” Coulson put a hand up interrupting him, “first off, I’m not your boss anymore that’s for sure, so drop the sir act.” He dropped his hand back down and put them both back in his pockets.  “I’m just here to ask for a favor,” Grant opened his mouth to object before he cut him off once more, “a favor you are in no position to refuse.”

Grant reeled in his anger as he tried to keep control of the situation, “You broke into my house to ask me a favor?”

“Hey, at least I didn’t break the door down?”

He gave the man an incredulous look, “You shot my dog!”

Coulson’s gaze shifted to the dog still lying on the carpet before shrugging, “I thought he was going to bite me”, he looked back up to make eye contact, “and I iced him—he’ll be fine. Anyway back to the favor.”

A little relieved to find out his dog was in fact _not_ dead, he crossed his arms as he waited to find out what on earth Coulson could want _him_ of all people for. 

“I need you to make sure Skye’s okay.”

Okay that’s _not_ what he was expecting at all and wait…hold up…

“What do you _mean_ make sure she’s okay?”

The worst of any situation instantly packed down his brain with horrible images.  Was she kidnapped? Did Raina have her?

_Oh God._

His face must have revealed the emotions waging war in his subconscious when he realized Coulson was dismissing his suspicions with a nonchalant wave of his hand, “Yeah, no—she wasn’t kidnapped or anything.”

That was a relief.

“She left about a year ago and I kept up with her for a while but here in the past few weeks she’s completely disappeared off my radar.”

Grant’s brain stopped at the first part of the sentence and didn’t hear the rest of it as he processed the new information. 

_She left a year ago?_

Apparently Coulson didn’t notice Grant’s lack of response and was still explaining, “I know she’s good at this sort of thing—making it impossible for people to find her—but I mean… “

Grant watched him struggle with words before stopping him, “Coulson, I get it…but I have no idea where to even begin to look for her.” He put on hand on his hip and ran the other through his hair as he started to pace around the room.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve set out to go find her only to be stopped in the first step,” He stopped pacing and shaking his head he looked back to the older man. “I don’t know half the technology she uses…” he let out a sigh he sat down in the arm chair and clasped his hands between his legs, “I wouldn’t even know where to start looking.”

He heard his old boss laugh as he watched him make his way to the door, and after turning the knob and opening it part way he turned back around to look at Grant.

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that…I’m sure she will find you first.”

The door closed behind him but Grant’s vision did not divert away from the door until he heard movement from Captain who seemed to be dreaming now.

His back hit the soft padding of the chair when he leaned back and brought his hands up to rub his face, feeling the stubble growing on his chin from his lack of shaving. 

_Well…that just happened._

A knock on the window by the door brought him back to the present as he glanced to see if it was Coulson again. He groaned in agony when he saw his neighbor standing in the window holding a pie up for him to see with a smile so big he thought the muscles in her face would surely rip.

Her high pitched voice made him cringe and he watched as Captain suddenly came to and wobbled a little as he rose to his feet.  He watched the dog look at the window in suspicion before his tail went between his legs and he ran into the bedroom with a whimper.

“Thanks a lot buddy.”

He’s always thought Fury put her there himself to serve as punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you make it through without falling asleep! Lol I’ll probably be writing more tonight. I have a ton of ideas for one shots and I just wanted to get this one out of the way first because you guys are blowing up my email with following notifications annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd it kinda makes me SUPER HAPPY.
> 
> Love ya’ll!


	3. Far Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're far away from each other, but not as far as they thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd here we are again with me ignoring my other stories so I can update the fun one lmao hope you guys like it! A little bit of a longer chapter because I combined two of them lol You’re welcome.
> 
> Song is ‘Far Away’ by Nickelback 
> 
> All mistakes are mine because as I sat down to type this I got a package in the mail which turned out to be the keyboard case that turns my tablet into a laptop so I typed this all up on that. Lol 
> 
> It’s the little things..  
> ENJOY

After she had her breakfast— the Waffle Hut was totally amazing— she loaded up the van and stopped at a gas station to refuel before leaving for her new destination.

Using her laptop at breakfast she had started to look a little bit more into where she last pinpointed his signal.  Skye knew for a fact that it came from the coastal area of the east coast because she remembers wondering why his signal looked like it was in the ocean before so she had her program search for any and all coastal regions around the old signal. By the time she was finished eating there were 10 results.

It wasn’t the best thing considering she’s in beach territory, but it was a start.

Of course she wasn’t paying for the gas.  She was using the touch pad screen on the pump along with her cellphone to make it seem as if she had paid.  She’d buy snacks somewhere later at a store after loading money (from someone else’s account) onto her card as to not arouse suspicion about how she got her gas.

A war was still raging in her head about the fact she was even on the east coast to begin with. 

_Stupid robot, making me do all this hard work._

It was an exaggeration because she knew she loved doing this sort of thing a little too much. The idea that no amount of information was off limits to her thrilled her and she loved putting her skills to use with the challenges of finding something….or someone.

Her motivation though is what was waning.  It had been resolute the whole way across the country, and now that she was so close, she questioned it.

Sure he said he’d come looking for her. But did he mean it?

Her thoughts from that morning flooded her mind once more as she put the gas pump back into its slot and twisted the lid on her gas tank with a sigh.

 _“One day, I_ _’ll find you again._ _”_

The thought caused her to slam her door as she suddenly gained a rush of…well she didn’t know what it was but she was using it to fuel her fire.

She pulled over into one of the parking spots on the side of the building and put it in park so she could figure out which spot she’d hit first. 

One of the spots, Myrtle Beach, was a _huge_ tourist attraction and despite thinking about the advantages that could hold for a spy, she knew Mr. Grumpy pants would not be there.

_One down_

She narrowed her list to three different islands that looked promising.  She hacked the internet from the business next to the gas station and used it to search for news articles, marriage announcements, obituaries, events— _anything_ that might be able to point her in some kind of direction. 

The laptop dinged when the search was finished and she looked wide eyed at all the databases it brought up. 

The road there wouldn’t take forever…she would sift through those on the way.

She had a bone to pick with a certain spy.

* * *

 

 

“ _Dammit_ _”_

Grants hands slammed down onto the counter as he hung his head down. 

Another search had ended as quickly as it began when he realized he had no contacts he could even call to aid in his search.

 _“I_ _’m sure she will find you first._ _”_

But what if he was wrong…what if…she _wasn_ _’t_ looking for him. He certainly wouldn’t look for him.  He was poison that needed to be left alone. 

The bond between Coulson and Skye was strong though…she told him everything. Perhaps maybe she was looking for him and that’s why he came all the way out here to find him.

He felt his hand nudged by a cold wet nose and looked down to see his fury friend looking up at him and wagging his cropped tail. 

HE smirked down at the dog and found comfort in the fact no matter what, he’d always have his buddy…

_Buddy_

Well that was unintended.

He shook the thoughts out of his head having had enough of depressing thoughts lately; plus he was running out of glasses to throw.

“Wanna go for a walk?”

The dog tilted its head and bolted off to the table beside the door and took hold of his leash carefully before trotting back to Grant.

“You’re too smart for your own good.”

Grant hooked his leash to the dog’s collar and opened the door letting the Doberman out first.  It was a cool afternoon and the sun was starting to go down and he had glanced at the clock on his wall to see that it was low tide.

 Perfect conditions for an ‘ _I want to bang my head into a wall_ _’_ walk on the beach.

_Hopefully this will take my mind off things._

 

* * *

 

Skye pulled off the road frustrated and pulled into some diner.  She had just crossed some long ass bridge and there was no freaking sign to tell her what island she was on and the big fish on the side of the building caught her attention.

It was a bar of sorts where fisherman and boaters could pull their boat up and dock to get some food, as well as the customers on land.  She motioned that she was heading for the bar and the hostess smiled at her politely.

Once she was sitting down she brought her laptop out and opened it to figure out where she was.

She _at least_ knew she was in North Carolina and near that one beach that she thought he would never touch.

_Ocean Isle Beach_

Okay, well it’s not on my list…but might as well check it out.  Her program was searching through databases around the local when she felt the presence of someone sitting beside her.

Turning around, she figured it out to be a waitress who had her pin and paper ready while smacking her lips chewing some gum. 

“What can I getcha darlin’”

_Oh my, that accent._

Skye let out a light laugh and pointed to the appetizers on the menu that she knew she would like. 

The waitress looked to be in her 30’s and her blonde hair was tied up into a knot on top of her head. Small anchors dangled from a silver thread attached to her ears and the clanging Skye kept hearing were the many different bangles she had on one of her wrists.  The restaurants uniform of a t-shirt and shorts was about the only thing Skye could identify with.

“Alright sugar I’ll put that right in for you.”

She mumbled thanks and went back to her laptop that had finished its search.  There was apparently only one newspaper in the local area and Skye wasn’t sure if that would prove to be a good thing or a bad thing, this place wasn’t on her list anyway so perhaps she wasn’t wasting time with just one newspaper.

The waitress brought out her food and she ate as she began to go through the archives of the newspaper from the last year.  Her food was gone and had been picked up by the waitress by the time an article made her stop.

  Some guy had apparently caught a really huge fish off the dock where the restaurant she was in sat and she looked at the picture to get a better look at it. 

 _That_ _’s_ _….neat?_

She leant back in her chair with her hands still on the keyboard when something in the picture caught her eye.  It was a tall guy, which is what made him stand out, leaning over the bar with his foot propped up on the bar at the bottom of the bar.  His torso was angled towards the fish guy as his hand had a bottle tilted up taking a drink.  He was _not_ bad looking at all, and his black shirt and jeans get up definitely appealed to Skye.

“Hey…who are—“

_Holy shit._

There was no way.

After a few clicks her photo shop program began working on the photo to enhance it to make it more identifiable and she ran a facial recognition scan just to east her paranoia.

“Oh my god,” The half laugh came out of astonishment.  This island wasn’t even on her list and here she was staring at this picture taken in the same restaurant she was in, and at the same bar she was freaking eating at. 

Honestly, the whole black shirt and jeans look should have given it away the minute she saw it.

“Any dessert for ya darlin’? We’ve got a peach cobbler just out of the oven?”

Skye completely forgot where she was for two seconds and after catching up with reality looked to the side to find her waitress, whose name she’s come to find was Caroline, before shaking her head quickly. “No, actually I’d like my check—“

Caroline had zeroed in on what was on the computer screen and took a big gasp as a smile broke out onto her face when she pointed towards the screen.

“That’s from when Earl caught that fish!” She turned her body around towards the corner of the room, “Hey Earl! Remember when you got that fish a couple months ago!”

The whole place erupted in cheers and chatter suddenly as Skye heard every conversation shift gears to fish.

“Uh, yeah...” Skye figured she’d never seen this girl again in her life, and also realized the woman was obviously a local and could help considerably in her search.  If she knew fish guy the chances of her knowing the extremely tall, dark, and handsome in the back were very high.

The waitress had a hand on her hip and was laughing at some of the men in the back cheering before Skye interrupted her, “ _Actually_ , I just was looking at some articles from around here since I’ve never been here before and—“

The woman had pulled out a chair from the bar beside Skye quicker than lightening and sat down spinning around to face her. 

Her very brightly painted finger nails glittered in the setting sun light as she put one of her hands flat on the bar beside the hacker and brought her other to grip Skye’s arm.

“Oh, my, gosh! Are you here for the palm festival?”

The combination of the high pitched voice and southern drawl was almost a little much for Skye but she was on a mission.

“No, I just came across the article but what I’m interested in,” She pulled the screen closer and pointed to the man standing at the bar, “is that guy right there.”

Caroline looked briefly at the picture before closing her eyes and turning her head to the side as she leaned back.  “Oh girl,” she brought the hand holding Skye’s arm down to slap her thigh, _“he_ is something else!

Skye would ignore the awkward comment for now just out of excitement of being so close to find something out.

“You know him?” If her tone expressed her intense need Caroline didn’t notice. 

“Honey you don’t forget cheekbones like that.” Her eyebrow arched at Skye as she instantly flipped switches turning defensive, “ _Why_ you lookin’ for him?”

_Uh, excuse you lady._

Skye seemed taken aback before trying to figure out how to explain, “He’s my…old _friend_.  I haven’t seen him in a long time and if he’s this close you know,” she let out a fake laugh, “I can’t pass up the opportunity to see him!”

The waitresses head turned to the other side as she leaned in towards Skye again, “Friend as in,” her eyebrows bounced in a suggestive manner, “your _lover?_ ”

Skye desperately tried to think of a way to get this awkward conversation back on track so she could find out what she needed to know.

“No, we were just friends, I mean—“

The squeal vibrated through Skye’s entire being and she hunched her shoulders as she flinched as the blonde brought her hands up in front of her chest and clasped them together in a dramatic fashion, “This is straight out of a Nicholas Sparks novel!!”

Skye sighed and put her head in her hands as the woman ranted on about the plot of whatever novel she was talking about.

She’d read _one_ Nicholas Sparks book and it was when she was around nineteen years old and within five minutes she was bawling like a child.

Her life was tragic, but not in the romantic kind.

The manicured hand slapped Skye’s thigh bringing her out of her thoughts with a jolt, “Darlin’ you’re in luck, because _that_ guy,” She reached over Skye to point at the screen, “lives right _down there_.” Her finger pointed out the window to a road traveling away from the building.

No way was this real life.  She did not just stumble into some bar to find this crazy southern lady only to find out she knew where he was.  There had to be a catch.

Skye closed her laptop with a sigh, “I really appreciate it but I doubt—“

Caroline was now leaning on the bar with one arm bent propping her up and her other on her hip with a sarcastic look on her face, “Names Grant, moody as hell, personality of a fish, but as hot as a summer day in Texas?”

_Well shit._

The expression on the hackers face must have told the woman all she needed to know as she lifted the arm that had been propping her up to tap the counter with her palm, “Yeap, he lives towards the end of the island.”

She turned towards the window and pointed her finger at the road once more, “Pull out of the parkin’ lot and make a left, and keep going ‘til you can’t go anywhere else and turn right.” She turned back to face Skye with what looked like a genuine smile.  “Tan house, blue shutters, super cute.”

Was this chick some kind of stalker or something? She knew _way_ too much about him and his house.

Caroline’s eyes widened in shock before leaning over once more to place her hand on Skye’s forearm, “Oh honey no!” Her laugh lightened the mood somewhat but Skye was still slightly creeped out, “I’m his neighbor! He lets my son play with his dog all the time. Come to think of it I think we might be the only ones he does talk to.”

Okay, yeap, it was official.  It was definitely Grant Ward they were talking about.

Skye packed her quickly packed her things back into her bag with the help of the blonde who was handing her things that had scattered across the bar.  She got up to leave before realizing she hadn’t paid yet.

“Oh right, the check, I—“

A hand waved in her face in dismissal, “Don’t worry ‘bout it sugar, this one’s on the house. Just make sure to tell him I have a pie waitin’ in the fridge for him.”

The hacker smiled for what was probably the first time in a couple months and picked up her jacked.   
“Thank you so much!”

She ran to her van and threw her bag in the passenger seat before turning the ignition.  The van's tires squealed behind her as she made her way to the road the waitress had directed her too, running over the curb in her haste.

Her smile was widening with each second and she knew when she saw him the tears of happiness are going to fall off her cheeks like waterfalls.

_I can't believe I actually found him._

* * *

 

His hands were in the pockets of his shorts and the long sleeves of his black cotton jacket had little specs of sand that had been stirred up from the ocean breeze.

Living on the island for about a year, he had come to realize that shoes were something of an unnecessary thing resulting in him using them less and less while walking on the beach. The corners of his mouth curved upwards as he continued to watch his fury friend prance around the beach chasing seagulls before he let his head drop to look at the water that had made its way up shore to his feet.  Who knew that he would actually be this relaxed just by walking on a beach?  He felt as if the past couldn’t catch up to him here…that time was almost still.

His gaze rose back to stare down the beach ahead of him and he felt a presence somewhere around him.  Looking to his side he saw another ghostly image of Skye walking by him with her head turned towards the ocean, her sundress flapping in the breeze and her hair blown all around her face.

**_This time, This place_ **

These...visions...had been getting worse lately and he knew it was more than the alcohol.

**_Misused, Mistakes_ **

The ghost Skye dissolved into tiny grains of sand and he suddenly felt empty again.

**_Too long, Too late_ **

It's been a year.  A whole freaking year.  He couldn't believe he'd made her wait so long. But..was it really him who was making her wait? He'd initially blamed it on the demons that haunted him, then he threw the blame at Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. for keeping him out in the field... He'd been lying low for months though...was it possible he could have already found her?

Or was it something else.

_Fear_

**_Who was I to make you wait_ **

His fear of her rejection made him want to run away forever in order to punish himself for all his wrongs in life.  When he made that promise, it was in the heat of the moment at a very critical point in a situation that was months in the build up.  In the back of Grant's  mind the thought that Skye could have changed her mind in a year weighed heavily.

**_Just one chance_ **

Hell, if he was her, he wouldn't forgive him either.  He would give himself the time of day let alone breathe the same air as him.

**_Just one breath_ **

But...if life was giving him the chance to redeem even a little bit of his soul...Shouldn't he take it? If Skye was wlling to love him...should he let her?

**_Just in case theres just one left_ **

There was no doubt about the depth of his feelings for her. Skye had been, and still was, his beaco in the darkness. If he had to spend the rest of his life proving to her how much he loved her and how special she was, then so be it.

**_'Cause you know_ **

He'd never let her feel alone again.

**_You know,_ **

He sure as hell would't let any harm come to her ever again.

**You know,**

* * *

 

_  
**That I love you** _

The old van screeched to a stop in front of the house fitting the woman's description. She leaned forward on her steering wheel to look up through the windshield at the home that stood on wooden beams like the others to avoid hurricane floods.

_This is it._

**_I have loved you all along_ **

In her excitement she flung her door open and went to jump out of her van only to find she was still strapped to the seat by her seatbelt. Skye cursed to herself as she fought with the clasp and once it released its hold on her she took off towards the stairs leading up to the front door of the beach house without a car of who might be able to see up the white sundress she wore as it flapped in the wind.

**_And I miss you_ **

She struggled to catch her breath when she reached the top and put one palm flat on the door in front of her to steady herself and brought ther up to knock quickly on the door.

_Well that was anticlimatic_

Is this what happened in romance novels? Showing up on someone's doorstep to find them _not_ home?

**_Been far away for far too long_ **

She shuffled to the window beside the door and peaked inside to find all the lights turned off. Stepping back towards the railing she leaned over the railing at her waist to see if his car was even there.  Something she hadn't thought of checking before running up the stairs.

**_I keep dreaming_ **

There was a black Ford truck sitting underneath the house in the parking space so he couldn't be far.  She jerked back up over the railing and frantically looked around her to think of options before her eyes settled on the beach behind the home.   
  
 ** _You'll be with me and you'll never go_**

Running down the steps took a lot more effort than she at first figured as she narrowly avoided stumbling down the entier set before her hand used the banister at the end to swing herself around towards the back of the house where her feet hit sand. 

Breathing heavily she looked around at the empty beach in front of her. 

_Maybe he's out jogging or something..._

**_Stop breathing_ **

She plopped down on the first step of the stairs that led to a deck attached to the back of the house and pulled her jean jacket tighter around her as the breeze blew through her hair.

 **_If I don_ ** **_’t see you anymore_ **

He had to come back eventually.

* * *

 

“Come on Cap! Time to go back!”

Grant was already walking back along the beach towards his home before he heard the pitter patter of the Dobermans feet as he ran past his owner.

The ocean calmed his mind a little surer, but at the same time it brought the ache he felt from Skye’s absence.

 **_On my knees, I_ ** **_’ll ask_ **

Solutions to the problem of his lack of contacts were floating around in his head and he was trying to think of a way around the problem. 

_Maybe I should just go looking for her physically?_

It had a very low success percentage, but if Coulson was right and she was looking for him, maybe they’d bump into each other? Probably not.

**_Last chance for one last dance_ **

The only thing he didn’t have to think hard about is what he would do when they did see each other again. 

He’d hold her until she literally asked him to stop and tell her a million times over how much he loves her and all the things they’re going to do together.

 **_‘Cause with you, I_ ** **_’d withstand_ **

The threat of Hydra was still out there, but he was stronger now. Before Fury and Hill he had taken out an entire camp of them after all just by himself…bullet wounds aside.

**_All of hell to hold your hand_ **

As long as he was with her….he’d do anything.  He’d be the monster Raina mentioned.

 **_I_ ** **_’d give it all, I_ ** **_’d give for us_ **

Deep down though, he knew the truth.

Grant Ward wanted out. Out of the game. Out of this…. _life_.

A chance at love was available, or so he hoped, to him and he was tired of giving up chances to make up for his sorry childhood just for other people to be satisfied.

 **_Give anything but I won_ ** **_’t give up_ **

He was being selfish.  That wasn’t going to stop him from asking her though…Asking if she’d be willing to leave it all with him.  She left the bus whether or not it was to find him was still up in the air, but maybe that was a sign that she was willing to leave too.

**_‘Cause you know,_ **

It hadn’t really hit him as hard as it did in that moment, that this is what being in love felt like.  After all the things with his family and Garrett he hadn’t really known much about the feeling, always faking it for a job or mission. 

But this…

**_That I love you_ **

This was such a different feeling and the sheer intensity of it made him breathless as he stopped walking along the beach, allowing for the water to rush up from the tide and run over his feet.

He stared ahead of him and somewhere in the back of his mind acknowledged that his stop had aroused the suspicion of his clever canine who was padding back towards him.

**_That I have loved you all along_ **

Something settled inside Grant then.

 Resolve maybe?

**_And I miss you_ **

He couldn’t keep living like this.  Pining away at ghostly images of a woman that he at one time had actually had in his arms offering him a chance only for him to run away.

 _I_ _’m going to find her._

He nodded his head as if agreeing with himself on the solution. And there was more of a purpose to his steps as he began walking again towards his home that was now coming into view.

**_Been far away for far too long_ **

Captain had already ran ahead as their home approached and was now only a house’s length away from them and he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination that made it seem like his pace had quickened.

Everything around him suddenly tuned out and all he could hear was the crash of the waves hitting the sand and his heart beating in his own ears. 

**_I keep dreaming_ **

The intensity of the feeling was getting stronger inside his chest and—oh god—is this how it was always going to feel? This overwhelming need to be beside that person? If so he was probably going to have to pick some hand cuffs up or something to tie her to him because he was not—

 **_You_ ** **_’ll be with me and you_ ** **_’ll never go_ **

Barking brought his attention back to the world in front of him as he craned his neck to see around one of the pillars of his neighbor’s home as he approached the stairs to his own.  His hand reached behind him feeling for his gun, but remembered putting it back in the drawer before they left for their walk. He strained to listen as he closed in on the sound.

It wasn’t necessarily a mean bark?

He slowly rounded the corner as he leant his torso to the side to try to get a glimpse of what his protective dog was barking at.

**_Stop breathing_ **

All he saw though was a mess of wavy brown hair, a jean jacket with a white dress flowing down the pair of tan legs he noticed peeking out at the bottom.

His gaze rose as the figure turned around and let out a laugh.

 _That laugh_ _—_

His eyes widened

 **_If I don_ ** **_’t see you anymore_ **

“ _Grant_ _”_

With his body still frozen, he watched her put both hands down to keep his companion from jumping on her and smoothed them down her legs to get the wrinkles and sand out of her dress. She straightened back up and stared back into his eyes as the ocean breeze picked up.

**_So far away_ **

He only vaguely notices that she’s begun to move closer to him and his hands start to sweat but he dared not take them out of his pockets.

He swallowed thickly as she came to a stop in front of him, staring up at him with her doe eyes.

**_Been far away for far too long_ **

“You okay there robot?”

Not even the old nickname snapped him out of his daze, now drawn into her toothy smile as her lips curved up.

**_So far away_ **

Another bark startled them both and his hands finally left his pocket ready to act when he snapped his attention to the dog that was back out onto the beach chasing crabs that had come out since the sun had now nearly disappeared completely.

He heard another chuckled from her and turned back around to her running his eyes down her body. 

**_Been far away for far too long_ **

“Skye.”

The hacker’s smile widened, “Oh so you do remember me, huh?”

**_But you know,_ **

A breathy chuckle of his own escaped him as he stepped closer to her and stilled when he realized he did so, keeping silent to wait for the rest of the lashing he deserved for leaving her, hands down by his sides.

**_You know,_ **

He shook his head as he struggled to find any words to say, only to smile and look down to the space between them when he felt her palms run up his chest.

**_You know,_ **

Her palms smoothed a path back down his chest and over his abs where they wrapped around his waist.

**_I wanted_ **

 “You took too long to come find me like you promised.”

A streak of guilt and sadness went through him and sunk to the bone and his eyes closed as he bowed his head in shame.

**_I wanted you to stay_ **

“So,”

His eyes snapped open and he looked up at her without completely raising his head searching her features for signs of any kind to indicate how this was going because hell if he knew

**_‘Cause I needed_ **

Her smile held no hostility that he could immediately see and he threw everything out the window as he ran his fingers up her sides to grip her elbows where they were bent.

“So, I came looking for you.”

**_I need to hear you say_ **

Forget looking for signs he was taking this opportunity, and if she shoved him off of her well then he’d know for sure. 

His grip on her elbows tightened and he drew her closer, watching her eye lashes flutter closing her eyes while tilting her head to meet the angle of his mingling their breath together as time began to slow.

**_I love you_ **

He brought his mouth down onto hers and he felt the goose bumps rise on her arms as he moved his mouth over hers slowly. One of his hands released her elbow in favor of burying his fingers in her hair as he cupped the back of her head to keep her lips on his.

**_I have loved you all along_ **

When he felt her tongue run along his lower lip he opened his mouth granting her access as a soft moan sounded from the back of her throat.

Her hands at his back had unclasped from each other and were feeling their way around his torso.  Small fingers looped around his belt loop on the side of his hip brought them flush together with a jerk as the fingers of her other hand ghosted across his abs.

**_And I forgive you_ **

His hand left her elbow when he felt her fingers begin to move and he slid his hand around to her back to run his fingers down her spine causing her to tremble before he settled them on her lower back pressing gently to increase the pressure of their hips against each other.

**_For being away for far too long_ **

He still couldn’t believe this was happening, and a small ounce of doubt and fear that it could be another one of his vivid images floated through his mind until the small fingers that had been caressing his abs were tracing paths of fire onto his skin under his shirt before slipping under the waist band of his jeans and pull as she attempted to bring them closer still.

**_So keep breathing_ **

The kiss broke as oxygen became a problem but it wasn’t long before he felt her lips on the underside of his jaw leaving open mouthed kisses that heated his skin. 

He held her head to his neck as he soaked up the warm feeling before tightening the grip his fingers had in her hair, gently pulling her hair to bring her head up and her lips back to his.

 **_‘Cause I_ ** **_’m not leaving you anymore_ **

A groan escaped him as she removed her hand from inside his waistband to bring it up to cup his jaw as they broke apart once more, both panting due to the heat around them and lack of air. 

Skye ran her thumb across the stubble on his chin as he let a goofy grin appear on his lips eliciting one of her own.

**_Believe it_ **

“Skye.”

**_Hold on to me and, never let me go_ **

Closing his eyes, he shook his head at the thought of what he was trying to say.

“Never again.”

**_Keep breathing_ **

The confusion and hurt on her face caused him to panic and he tightened his hold on her to keep her from pushing away.

“Grant, I—“

 **_‘Cause I_ ** **_’m not leaving you anymore_ **

“No,” Her wide eyes traveled back up to meet his and he could see the same look he saw a year ago when he left her.

Sadness. Hope.  Love.

“No, Skye,” Both of his hands cupped her face, “I’m never letting you go again. I’m so sorry I—“

**_Believe it_ **

Her lips cut him off briefly before she pulled away again, “Shut up Grant.”

Happiness finally filled the void in him and bringing both hands to hold her right under her ribcage, he lifted her up above him laughing when he heard her squeal.

He felt her feet rest against his thighs as her legs rested on his torso. Her hands cupped his neck on both sides with her hair falling in a curtain around them as she smiled down at him and Grant swore looking up at her, that the world stopped.

She was here.  They were finally together. They could finally _stay_ together.

His gaze flitted from her eyes down to her lips, and back up to her eyes giving her a sexy smile before he pressed his lips to hers once more.

**_Hold on to me and, never let me go._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy poop that took forever. Hope you guys liked it! I’m not done though there’s a scene after this that kind of wraps everything up and *cough* let them get to know each other again *cough*
> 
> ALSO, if any of you are thinking that I stereotyped the hell out of that waitress, save your breath. I go to that beach every year. There is a waitress there who acts EXACTLY like that. Her name is not Caroline but that chick has been there every year I go down there and she’s hilarious. 
> 
> So just don’t.  
> REVIEW PLEASE


	4. Come Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunited and it feels so good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here you go. 
> 
> I just want to point out that there is a giant awkwardness gap between reading fics of a certain adult nature, and writing them, and omg am I in the awkward range.
> 
> Song is Kenny Chesney ‘Come Over’
> 
> I own nothing but regret so much lol

Their hands hadn’t left each other as they made their way up the stairs outside of his beach front home, his furry companion trotting ahead of them.  He kept his arm slung over her shoulders as they walked and planted kisses to her head as he whispered in her hair causing her to giggle.

When they reached the top of the stairs Grant dropped the arm from her shoulders and grabbed her small hand in his as he gently brought her to stand in front of him.  One of his hands fell to rest on her hip, pinning her to the door while his other reached into his pockets to retrieve the keys to the door. 

Skye placed both of her palms on his chest and smiled when he brought the keys up to the doorknob behind her back.  One of her hands rose to cup his face, tilting it to the side before pressing her lips to his. 

The lock clicked behind them and they tripped through the door as it swung open behind them, laughing at their eagerness.   

After steadying their footing, Grant finally released the hold her had on her when Captain squeezed between the two nudging his hand with a cold nose. 

Grant chortled and scratched behind the Dobermans ears, “Yeah, I know, you’re hungry.”  He leant back up to meet the intense gaze of the woman in front of him, “I’m going to make coffee…you want some?”

Skye nodded with a smile, coaxing out one of his own.  The ex-agent filled the dog bowl in the floor with dog food and set the container of dog food back in its place.  Straightening back up he rubbed his hands over his face and leaned forward to grip the granite of the kitchen counter.

_She’s really here.  Coulson wasn’t kidding._

He let his head hang low, and pushed off the counter to stretch his calf muscles before pushing himself up and back into a standing position.  He looked over at the coffee pot and pressed the start button before he got out two cups to pour the steaming liquid into. 

He wasn’t tired…but he needed something to keep his hands from shaking in response to the ghost standing in his living room.

**_I turn the TV off, to turn it on again  
Staring at the blades of the fan as it spins around_ **

She was standing at the entertainment center when he walked in with both mugs, where he had found Coulson not days before with his news of her. 

Grant’s breath caught in his throat as he watched her dress ride up her legs as she rose on her toes to look at one of the pieces of art.  He cleared his throat before he got too lost in his thoughts and raised the cup of coffee towards her with a nod, “Here’s yours—it’s hot.”

He sat down in his usual place of the large arm chair in the corner, watching her carefully as she gracefully walked over to pick up her own and bring it to her lips to blow cool air over the surface.  He swallowed the lump in his throat and leaned back in the large chair with an elbow propped up to bring his fingers up to his chin. 

**_Counting every crack, the clock is wide awake  
Talking to myself, anything to make a sound_ **

They remained silent, both taking timid sips of the hot beverage as Skye walked around the room some more taking it all in as if she was recording each item.  “Nice house,” She smirked at him, “real… _beachy_.”

Swallowing the liquid, he closed his eyes and relished in the warmth it provided him, before he responded casually, “Yeah well…it reminded me of someone I knew.”

**_I told you I wouldn’t call, I told you I wouldn’t care_ **

Noting her silence after a few seconds, he opened his eyes slowly to find her eyebrow cocked up at him with her hands holding her cup on the tip of her lips. 

**_But baby climbing the walls gets me nowhere_ **

He was about to ask her what was wrong when she shook her head with a laugh and started towards him. Placing her coffee cup on the table beside his chair, she leaned over him slightly to reach for his own to join hers on the table. She placed an arm on the back of the chair by his head, and lifted a leg to place herself in his lap. Grant placed a hand on her back to help her and slid it around her waist to lift her more along his torso and once both legs were on the chair beside his own rested a hand on her naked thigh that peeked out from the way her dress now laid.

His thumb began to stroke her thigh as he looked up at her, his chin level with her chest as she partially rested on the arm of the chair.  Grant felt her nails scratch the base of his neck before sliding her long fingers to thread through his short hair. 

**_I don’t think that I can take this bed getting any colder_ **

“Are you saying I’m _bitchy_ or that I give off a _beach bum_ vibe?”

Confusion etched onto his face before he saw the twinkle of mischief in her eye along with her devious smile giving her joke away as he realized what he had said earlier. 

His eyes dashed from her eyes to her lips and back before leaning back away from her some, “Who said I was talking about you?”

**_Come over, come over,_ **

**_come over, come over,_ **

**_come over_ **

The challenges they threw at each other was one of the things he loved about her and something he found himself missing the most.  The way they constantly tried to outwit the other with their puns and quips made every day with her feel livelier. 

Skye snorted as she looked away from him feigning indifference, “Well,” she shrugged her shoulders for added effect, “I know we’ve kissed a couple times but…” He chuckled a little before looking down at the hand resting on her thigh for a few moments before her hand waiving caught his attention. “It’s not really that big of a deal, but I don’t think a robot can make very many friends who give off a ‘ _beachy’_ vibe.”  Her air quotations caused him to let out a louder chuckle and he unconsciously found himself pulling her closer. 

He felt her relax into him more when he pulled her closer, and it gave Grant a view down her dress where her white bra poked held her modest sized breast. He’d been too busy exploring his new found view to notice she was staring down to see what he was looking at, and pushed her chest out further.

**_You can say we’re done the way you always do  
It’s easier to lie to me than to yourself_ **

“See something down there? That would be pretty embarrassing if I dropped food from earlier down my shirt.”

Grant sat up straighter in the chair and pulled the leg in his grasp more over his hip and bringing her out from where she was leaning most of her weight on the arm of the chair so he could slide his other hand down to grab her firm bottom guiding her to straddle him completely.

Ignoring the question, his knees spread apart a little more as he straightened up more to bring them face to face, one hand still on her thigh with fingers drifting under her dress, and his other on her hip drawing her closer still. 

**_Forget about your friends, you know they’re gonna say  
We’re bad for each other, but we ain’t good for anyone else_ **

He felt his voice lower as he watched her lick her lips, “I told you I wasn’t a robot.”

Skye closed slightly as he ghosted the fingers under her dress up along her thigh before coming to the juncture of her thigh and hip. He could feel her soft cotton bikini panties and spread his fingers around her hip allowing his thumb to brush across her pelvis.

The hitch in her breath caused a wave of desire to rush over him and her dress allowed him to feel her warm center through his own khaki shorts. 

One of her hands was still in his hair, although now gripping the back of his head tightly, and her other was fisted in the sleeves of his black jacket. 

**_I told you I wouldn’t call, I told you I wouldn’t care_ **

Skye rested her forehead on his and bit her lip before breathily replying, “Yet to be proven.”

Their breath blended between them and he brought his hand out from under her arm to run through her hair and cup the back of her head, bringing their faces away from each other.  He smoothed his thumb across her cheek and he knew that the smolder and fire in her eyes were mirrored in his own. 

“I can fix that.”

He barely gave himself enough time to even whisper the comment before bringing her head forward, crashing his lips to hers. 

**_But baby climbing the walls gets me nowhere_ **

He felt her rush up before she settled back further into his lap, bringing them chest to chest, having to bite back his moan at the feeling.  The hand under her dress squeezed her hip before he slipped the thumb underneath the fabric of her panties feeling the smooth skin underneath. 

The whine she let loose as she opened her mouth to his intensified the need that has been waiting deep inside him since he left her a year ago. 

Her hands glided down his chest and she reached down to unzip his jacket before she started to push it from his shoulders.  He ripped the hand from her thigh out from under her dress to help her and kept his other arm firmly around her waist to hold her to him as he shrugged the sleeve off his shoulder, switching arms around her waist before shrugging the sleeve off the other. 

It wasn’t enough. They were both wearing too many layers and he needed to feel her skin soon.

**_I don’t think that I can take this bed getting any colder_ **

In true Skye fashion, she seemed to be well ahead of him and already had her hands on both sides of his rib cage jerking the shirt up from between them and pushing it over his arms as he raised them for her. 

She ran her hands over his shoulders before bringing them both to the back of his head to jerk him forward once more, pressing her mouth to his eagerly.

Grant heard her groan in frustration and shivered as she dug her nails into the back of his neck when he pulled away from her lips for mere seconds before returning to her neck.  Her grip on his neck relaxed when he began to place wet kisses along the column of her neck, finding her pulse point in the process.  He rolled his tongue over the spot before nipping at it gently, triggering Skye to  throw her head back  and grind her hips into his, panting out his name. 

If she could just stay like that, and keep saying his name _like that_ ….He’d be golden.

**_Come over, come over,_ **

**_come over, come over,_ **

**_come over_ **

 

Without leaving her neck he began to push her own jean jacket off of her only to throw it down on the ground beside the armchair.  The absence of the jacket revealed Skye’s chest fully with only the spaghetti straps holding the fabric over her breasts.  Grant’s mouth moved down her neck to her collar bone before pressing his hand into her back to get her to rise up once more bringing his mouth level to her cleavage where he placed kisses where her bra peaked out.

Skye jerked his head back up and held his jaw in place as she slanted her lips over his in a kiss that was much more passionate and strangely enough, much calmer than the frantic ones they’d been experiencing. 

**_We don’t have to miss each other_ **

Grant’s hands stilled at the sudden change of tempo, moving his lips in time with hers.  He felt Skye break away first and as if in a daze opened his eyes slowly to look up at her as she ran her fingers over the stubble on his chin. 

**_Come over_ **

A smile edged onto her lips and he couldn’t help but smile back at her before leaning forward to place a kiss to the juncture at the base of her neck before resting his cheek on her shoulder content to just hold her until she made the next move.  This was all on her terms right now, he was _not_ messing this up.   

“I love you.”

**_We don’t have to fix each other,_ **

Her sudden declaration caused him to pull away and his eyes searched her face for evidence of a lie. 

“You left before I could tell you last time,” She let out a shaky breath, “I didn’t want to miss another opportunity.”

**_Come over_ **

The twinge of guilt that went through him was enough to take his breath away and all he could do was shake his head.  He opened and closed his mouth a couple times before swallowing, “No…” He took her hands from his face and brought them to his lips before letting them rest between their chests as he did a year ago as he continued to shake his head, “Neither of us are going to lose the chance again… _Skye_...I am _never_ going to leave your side again.”

**_We don’t have to say forever_ **

Skye let out a breathy laugh, “Good, saves me the trouble of having to find you again.”

Grant laughed out of relief and pulled her forward by her hands to press his lips to hers once more. 

**_Come over_ **

The kiss heated up once more as the spark between them reignited and before he could register where her hands were, he felt his belt being tugged out of the belt loops of his shorts and smiled against her lips. He felt her break away slightly, still ghosting her lips over his, “Speaking of lost chances, let’s not miss this one huh?”

**_You don’t have to stay forever,_ **

His hands ghosted back along her legs on either side of him and slid her dress up as they traveled further up. “I don’t plan to.” He gripped her hips tighter and with fervor he had not felt before pressed her down against him, pressing her heat down allowing him to grind back against her.

**_Come over_ **

Grant slipped his thumbs underneath the fabric of her panties once more, stroking closer and closer to the heat pressed against him.  She halted the kiss, nodding her head, before she dug her face into his neck to nip at his shoulder.  The dress gathered at the bottom as he began to push the stretchy fabric up, running his fingers along her sides as she straightened up to help him.  Once the dress was over her head she turned to toss it in the floor before turning back to Grant. 

His fingers immediately latched onto her breasts and began to knead as he mouthed them through the fabric, her hand on the back of his head encouraging him further.

Skye’s other hand made its way back between them and began to rub his stiffness through his shorts and he broke away from her chest with a moan before panting, “Skye.”

**_I told you I wouldn’t call, I told you I wouldn’t care_ **

Both of her hands were now working together to unbutton and lower the zipper on the shorts and she put her fingers underneath the waist band, “Lift up.”

The simple command left her lips as a whisper, but Grant heard it as if she yelled it.  He lifted the both of them up and helped her lower his shorts down, and with one hand under her, lifted her up to push them down to his feet.

She tried to settle herself back down but his hold on her prevented her from doing so, with both of his hands now on her hips, keeping her standing in front of him.  His thumbs drifted under the fabric of her panties once more, “These have to come off eventually.”

The air in the room crackled around them and he swore he must have forgotten to turn the air conditioner on in the home. 

**_But baby climbing the walls gets me nowhere_ **

Or maybe it was just her sinful smile.

Skye stepped back away from his knees and pushed his hands off of her before retreating behind her.  The white bra fell to the floor, but he made sure to keep his eyes locked with hers.  In his peripheral vision, he could see her hands lowering to the last piece of fabric, shrugging them down her hips, as she wiggled slightly. 

Cocking his eyebrow at her in yet another challenge, he kept his gaze locked with hers as she sauntered towards him and when she came within reach, he reached out for her hips once more, pulling her further in front of him.

A foot settled beside his hips and he ran his hand up the leg attached to the thigh, and continuing with their silent game, kept his eyes on hers as he pressed kisses to the inside of her thigh before running the stubble of his cheek along the skin.

**_I don’t think that I can take this bed getting any colder_ **

A triumphant smiled broke through when he heard her breath hitch, “Having issues?”

Skye shot him a pointed look and opened her mouth to respond when his hand slid up her thigh to the apex of her thighs effectively cutting her off.  Her hands shot out to his shoulders and she trembled as he ran his digits over her. 

“ _Grant._ ”

His fingers moved faster as he leaned forward to press his lips to her naval trailing lower with each kiss. This game of theirs couldn’t keep on forever, but despite how impossibly hard he was, her pleasure came first.

Her gasping increased and with a huff she shoved him away from her, bending over and after sliding her fingers under the waistband of his boxer shorts, pulled them down past his knees. 

Without straightening back up, Skye enclosed her hand around him, “No, more, teasing.” A firm stroke of her hand separating each word causing his breath to catch in his throat as he held in a moan.

**_Come over, come over,_ **

**_come over, come over,_ **

**_come over_ **

 

“Then come here.”

She fell against him after he pulled her forwards by her hips, and her knees fell on both sides of him keeping her suspended above him.

The arm around her waist tightened and his hand ran through her hair bringing their foreheads together once more, each of them panting in anticipation, “Do you trust me?”

He had to know. For more than obvious reasons. 

She pressed her mouth to his urgently nodding her head in consent, and he swallowed the sigh she released when he lowered her onto his length. Both remained still, soaking up the feeling before he couldn’t take it anymore, and bucked up against her prompting her to swivel her hips.

Their pace increased as he held onto her, thrusting his hips in response to hers moving over him.  Muscles began to tense around him, and he felt a tingle in his lower spine, telling him they were both close. 

Fingers skated between them as he reached for where they were joined and they broke apart when she let out a whimper at the added pressure.  His forehead rested on her neck as he felt his climax release with a growl, continuing to move his hips to trigger her own, causing her to fall over the edge with him.  

She crumbled on top of him as he fell back into the couch, rubbing her back, trembling as the aftershocks ran through both of them at the movement. 

Their heartbeats pounded against his chest as they tried to catch their breath.  Propping her arms up on his chest she brushed the hair out of her sweaty face before grinning at him. 

“And what are you smiling about?”

A light laugh escaped her as she looked down the hall to their right that led to his bedroom. His gaze followed her and cocked an eyebrow at her as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

“Skye,” he drew her name out in warning wondering what could be on the vixens mind. 

“If it was that amazing in a chair…” She tapped her fingers against his chest before leaning forward to place a kiss on the hollow of his throat, “I wonder what it will be like in a bed.”

He hummed in appreciation of the thought before adding, “Probably as amazing as it will feel afterwards when we try the shower.”

Her smile broadened and he surged up to a sitting position as she locked her legs around his waist, her arms draped over his shoulders.

“Shall we go investigate?”

A laugh bubbled out of her, “Why yes Agent Ward, I believe that’s a good place to _start._ ”

The comment was not lost on him as he gripped her bottom with one hand and had a thigh in the other, lifting them up disconnecting them in the process and walked towards the bedroom.

_Start?_

He dropped her unceremoniously on the bed before he rose up and backed up towards the door, keeping his eye on her as he went, pushing it shut.

_She was going to be the death of him._

**_Come over, come over,_ **

**_come over, come over,_ **

**_come over_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay that happened. It’s done. It’s over with. Let’s move on shall we? 
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER PLEASE


	5. Are You With Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will you hold my hand?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the part where people usually beg for forgiveness saying like omg I’m sorry I’m so late and stuff…but if you follow me on tumblr or twitter you’d know I’m already sorry lol. I didn’t even want to write this today because I didn’t take my meds (long story) this morning so I wasn’t as focused…which is why it took all day to write it lol  
> BUT
> 
> I hope you enjoy the conclusion. 
> 
> The song is Are you With Me by Easton Corbin

****

_I wanna fly so high that I'll never come down_  
I wanna love so hard, it could rip my heart out  
I wanna get so lost that I'll never be found  
Are you with me? Are you with me?

* * *

 

The bed had proven to be an excellent decision—the shower afterwards even better—but Grant still found it hard to believe that his rookie was actually with him, at that moment, in his bed. Not to mention naked again since they decided to try the bed out one more time for good measure before letting sleep take them.

The theory well proven.

The specialist watched the blades of the ceiling fan spin slowly around above him, providing a slight breeze as it ventilated the stuffy room, the sound of the afternoon rain shower hitting the ground slipping through the small opening of the window in his bedroom. He’s never slept in this late before, well, he’s also never been kept up so late before with the vixen that is Skye.

 Looking down at his chest, he smiled softly before bringing his fingers to weave through the chestnut curls spread out on his shoulder and pillow.  Puffs of air warmed his neck from where her head was buried, her lips slightly open, and knowing she was awake he chuckled under his breath before pressing a kiss to her forehead. 

The hacker was draped over his body with one leg between the two of his, her thigh resting over his hips as he drew lazy circles with his other hand on the smooth skin. 

“You’re thinking way too loud for—“she lifted her head to look for a clock.  He smiled before he cut in, “eleven a.m.” She nodded her head in agreement before letting it rest back on his chest, “Yeah, too loud for 11am,” she snuggled further into him and yawned, “too early, for big thoughts….”

Grant shook his head and grinned, “Oh, I’m sorry….” The fingers in her hair pulling slightly to tilt her head up, “did you stay up too late?”

A sleepy hum was his only answer and he released her hair before combing his fingers through it. 

“What were you even thinking about?”

The muffled question made him tense and he winced realizing she probably felt it. There really was no use hiding it. If it was a dream, it was a damn good dream, but he’d live….he hoped.

He whispered, “Is this real?”

Skye’s fingers trailed up his abs, settling on his chest. Snorting, “I hope so…or else…this is a whole other level of 0-8-4.”

 _0-8-4_.

A stupid set a numbers. A stupid set of numbers that attracted the investigation of a stupid agency.  A stupid agency that had an even more stupid organization hiding in the shadows and emerging once it found out about the stupid set of numbers.

Grant groaned inwardly when the thought of S.H.I.E.L.D. popped up, and he remembered all too suddenly of the situation.  She left S.H.I.E.L.D. to look for him. Now that she did….would she go back to them?

“I’m not going back Grant,” He both loved and hated how she always seemed to know what he was thinking. He turned his head on the pillow and rested his chin on the crown of her head and sighed, “But Skye—“

“No.” Skye pushed off of his chest and lifted her head out from under his chin, propping herself up with her elbow on the pillow above his shoulders. “I’m tired of losing Grant. I’m tired of helping other people get their happy ending and throwing my chance at one away.” He stared at her in silence and ran the tips of his fingers up and down her spine before settling on her hip.

“I’m no one’s happy ending Skye.” Looking away, “All I bring is pain.”

It was too painful. So he was doing what he always did, and started pushing her away.  He didn’t want to taint her. He was happy to have this last memory with her, but he would not do any more damage to her.  It figured.  After months of pining away, wishing she was here, now that he has her he starts pushing her away. Perfect time to develop a conscious.

“Yeah well it’s a pain to not have you around so you’re going to have to just deal.” Skye’s fingers turned grasped his chin and turned his head back towards her, “It’s my turn to be selfish.”

Selfish?

 Never.

She didn’t have a selfish bone in her body. 

Suddenly Skye reached over his body and grabbed his other hand before throwing herself back on the bed to lay flat, pulling him over her in the process.  He tried to squirm away so he wasn’t crushing her but her hands on his biceps on both sides of her held him still, and his body relaxes as her small hands massage their way up to his neck, cupping his face.

Her thumbs begin to move over his stubble and her eyes search his.  “Grant,” His breath hitches as he waits for her to finish.  “I know you’re working with Fury and Hill…helping S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Well…he wasn’t expecting that.

He shut his eyes tightly and let his forehead fall onto her shoulder as his body sagged against hers in defeat, making sure to lean most of his weight on his leg at her side to keep from crushing her. Skye’s hand moved to the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair as the other kept hold on his bicep.

His breathing was ragged as he tried to gain control of his emotions pushing to the surface. How could he have been so dumb? Of course she would find out, that’s what she does.  What could he say in defense?

Oh hey, I’ve been working with S.H.I.E.L.D. this whole time technically, I just didn’t have time to find you?

“I hacked the Hub’s servers…It’s what made me decide to leave.” Her fingers in his hair stilled, “Only it kicked me out before I could find out where you were.”

Coulson pegged her right. 

“Skye, I…” He sighed; he didn’t want to have this conversation because he knew it would lead to her remembering the truth. He was a criminal. He’s killed. He’s kidnapped.  He’s done so many terrible things. Caused so much damage. He must have said it out loud because when he lifted his head up to look at her, she was shaking her head furiously and he swore he could see tears gathering in her eyes as she placed her fingers over his lips.

He silenced his pleas and felt her lips replace her fingers over his mouth.  He immediately responded, trying to pour every emotion he couldn’t say in the small simple kiss.

She broke away from the kiss first before she whispered, “I know…but…it’s because of that, that made me decide to come find you.”

“I don’t understand…Why?”

A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye, and when he brushed it away with his finger, he felt as if he could cry too. No one’s ever said he was worth anything…much less come back to him. He’s never had the opportunity to let people that close to him. 

Skye’s hands are on both sides of his face now, holding his head up to look her in the eye, “Because you’ve never had anyone help you with anything in your life…”

Grant’s eyes widened and he once again held his breath.  A pain in his heart as the truth of the words hit him full force.  He thought John was there to help him, but had been blind to his real purpose. 

“And no one should have to go through life alone.”

The barrier around his heart shattered, just as it had when he walked away from her at Cybertech.  Only this woman could do that to him and he was done running away from her.  He wanted this dammit, he was going to take it.

He lowered his head, pressing his lips to her gently, breaking away after a second but not moving away from her.  He felt her whisper against his lips, “Let me help you Grant.”

_**Are you with me?** _

Words he had never thought he’d hear.  May had said them before, but it was meaningless.  She was part of the mission, and he allowed her to comfort him.  The fact that Skye was now saying them… _fuck_

She should have been the one to say them all along.

He nodded his head as he brought his lips down firm over her own, his hands smoothing their way up her sides.  He could never deny her anything anyway.  If she wanted to help him, she would do so with or without his consent…but like he said…he couldn’t deny her if he wanted to.

**_Are you with me?_ **

* * *

 

The sun was setting over the ocean when Grant finally emerged from the house, his shorts hanging low on his hips.  His eyes looked out over the water horizon as he leaned his elbows on the railing of his back deck, surrounded by high bushes of grass and palm trees. 

**_I wanna fall like the Carolina rain on your skin,_ **

He smiled when he heard the screen door open, and he felt the breath escape his lungs when he turned his head to look at her. 

Skye was running a hand through her messy hair, trying to untangle the curly mess, walking towards him wearing nothing but the bed sheet in a crude toga. 

**_I wanna walk a little too far out on that limb_ **

Leaning his back against the railing, hands on both sides, his smile broke out into a chuckle, causing her to release one of her own.  The two of them were quite the pair. 

Grant’s hands remained on the banister as she came closer, holding the toga around her breast with one hand, the other reaching out to touch his chest, tickling his ear before grabbing the back of his head.  He leaned in to meet her lips and his hands reached out on their own to grasp her hips, bringing her flush against him. 

**_Take you every place I’ve been and never been._ **

He’d take this girl anywhere.

**_Are you with me?_ **

His lips left hers to trail over her cheek and down her neck, resting for a moment longer on her shoulder as he ran his hands up and down her sides, one hand sliding inside the covers. 

This girl…who traveled the country just to find him. 

A breath of relief he didn’t know he’d been holding left him, finally feeling as if everything was right.  He was willing to try this…for her. This love thing.  He’s pretty sure he’s got it down on his end, he just needs to make sure he can do it with her here….but, there shouldn’t be a problem with that considering they can’t keep their hands off each other.

**_We can chase the wild dreams_ **

It wasn’t lust…it was just…the feeling of _finally_ ….finally being home…finally feeling complete…finally being with the one they loved.

**_Live like crazy_ **

They both had their demons, that in time, would come to life.  Hugging her tightly to him, he pressed a kiss to the side of her head, breathing in the scent of her hair.  They’d fight them together though.  He’d lay his life down to keep her safe…knowing she’d say the same….but he wouldn’t give her the chance.

It was hard to say whether or not his work with Fury and Hill was finished, but he would be ready should they ever need him again.  For now though, he’d enjoy the gift life has given him…this girl…Mary Sue Poots…

**_Love me baby,_ **

The Supervising Officer and the Rookie.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and…ex-Hydra agent. 

Once two different sides of a coin…but just like a coin…they’d always have each other’s backs. 

“Skye.”

His fingers on her back felt the vibrations as she hummed in response.

**_Just throw your arms around me,_ **

“If Fury ever needs me again…I’m going to help...and I-I might…need your help.”

Her shoulders jumped as she snorted, looking up at him, a smirk on her lips. “You are _always_ going to need my help Grant.”

He laughed at the assumption—the assumption that wasn’t really an assumption it was scarily close to the truth—and he reached down for her hand on his chest, bringing her fingers up to his lips, kissing each tenderly.

**_We can run like we won’t run out of time._ **

“But until then…I say we do whatever we want…Everything we never got a chance to do.”

Her wide doe eyes looked at him in confusion…her lips breaking out into a wide smile as she saw the mirth in his eyes.

“Are you with me?”

**_Come on, come on, come on,_ **

**_just come with me._ **


End file.
